Annealing apparatus and process.



w, s. ROWLAND.

ANNEAL ING APPARATUS AND PROCESS;

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26.1917- '1,268,155, v Patented June 4,1918.

INVENTOR. William 5. Row/mad.-

' ATTORNEY.

Tan STATES PATENT orrrcn.

. mnran s. nown nn, or NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, nssronon o THE sTAIvLnY wonxs, or new BRITAIN, ooNNEcTIoUT, A CORPORATION or oonNEoTIcU floj all whom it mag concern:

j "9 ANNEALING APPARATUS AND PROCESS.

incense.

resident of NewBritain, in the' county of 1 Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new artl usefull Improvetion; y

This 'inventionfrelates generally to the inents inAnnealing Apparatus and 1 rocesses, of which the following is a spec1fica annealing of metals in stripform, as dis- I tinguished from what is commonly called wirestock and of varying cross-sectional size and shape. The object of this invention is toprovide an improved apparatus and process for annealing by which a product of the desired characteristics may beproduced continuously at a relatively fast rate of production. It relates to a. type of appara tus where the strip is moved continuously through the annealing apparatus.

; In the drawingsv Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sideelevation of an apparatus forcarrying out the invention. Q

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 2-2ofFig.1.

Referring to the 'drawingsz A denotes the complete apparatus from end to end which will be hereinafter referred to as a chamber comprising a tubular section B and a box-like section C, within which are lothe strip of metal which is being annealed.

lt-is understood that the metal is being continuously uncoiled and straightened and then passed through the chamber, annealed,

cooledand then taken out and coiled up.

As seen in Fig. 2, the section B of the ,chamber is tubular and the flat strip bears only at its edges, which term is meant to exparts of the chamber from entrance to exit Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jung 1918, Application filed June 2 ,1917. Serial rename.

' V are in free and open communication and Be It known thatI, W MS- LAND, a citizen of the Unlted States, and a filled with a dry non-oxidizing gas envelop.

An excess supply of gas is provided atboth the entrance and exit of the chamber through the inlets, K K; this gas, or substantially all of-it, flowing into the chamber normal conditions the best practice calls for the inflow of gas at K, K at equal rates of flow. By maintaining the entrance and exit at the same level any tendency of the gas within the chamber to flow is overcome. The entrance and exit should be out of the plane of the heated part of the chamber and conveniently below, as here illustrated.

This apparatus is designed particularly for use in annealing cold rolled steel, which is produced of accurate gage and with a highly polished surface. Where this; cold rolled steel is to be annealed, it is desirable that, after the annealing process, the surface shall be as bright and highly polished as when it enters the annealing apparatus and by the apparatus and process herein above d' losed, a uniform product is produced ha g all of the desired characteristics to a ver marked degree.

Important features of the apparatus and process consist in maintaining the gas envelop in a substantially non-flowing or static condition; constantly providing a supply of non-oxidizing gas at. the entrance and exit and thus sealing these points to prevent the ingress of an oxidizingatmosphere; so su porting the strip as it travels through t e chamber, and especially through the tubular portion o'fthe chamber, as to avoid subject'- ing its surface to any rubbing action which might mar it when it is hot, this being accomplished by so adjusting the shape of the chamber section B to the cross-sectional shape of the strip as to have the strip supported at its edges. It is of course understood that that part of the tubular section B within the furnace is heated and the gas and metal within the tubular section is thus heated. The water-jacketed drums D, D,

about whichthe strip is wound, provide a proper cooling agency and reduce the tempeiature of the metal before its passage into the air to such a point that oxidization will not take place.

I claim as my invention 1. In an apparatus for annealing metals, a chamber provided with heating and cooling sections, the cross sectional shape of said heating chamber being so related to the cross-sectional shape of the strip continuously passing therethrough so that said strip shall be supported within said chamber by the contact of its edges with the inner wall of said chamber.

2. That improvement in the art of annealing metals Where a strip is continuously moved through an annealing chamber which consists in supporting said strip at its edges without any surface contact while movin through a portion of said chamber and thereby preventing the marring of any portion of the surface of said strip.

3. That step in the art of continuously annealing a strip of metal by passing it through a chamber comprising heating and cooling sections supplied with a suitable non-oxidizing atmosphere Which consists in introducing a non-oxidizing gas into said chamber near its entrance and exlt, and permitting the greater part of said gas to escape through the said entrance and exit.

4. In an apparatus for annealing metals by passing a strip continuously through an annealing chamber, a chamber comprising heating and cooling sections with its entrance and exit arranged at substantially the filling said chamber,

same level and out of the plane of the heating section, a substantially non-flowing nonoxidizing atmosphere within said chamber,

and means at the entrance and exit for con tinuously supplying a nonexidizing gas.

In an apparatus for annealing metals by passing a strip continuously through an annealing chamber, a chamber comprising heating and cooling sections with its entrance and exit arranged at substantially the same level and out' of the plane of the heating section, a substantially non-flowing, nonoxidizing atmosphere within. said chamber, and means at the entrance and exit for continuously supplying a non-oxidizing gas at substantially equal rates of flow.

6. In an apparatus ,for annealing metals by passing a strip continuously through an annealing chamber, an annealing chamber comprising heatin andficooling sections in open communication with one another, a non-oxidizing atmosphere within saidchamher, and an auxiliary supply of non-oxidizing gas at the entrance to and exit from said chamber to constitute a gas seal at said points.

7. In an apparatus for annealing metals by passing a annealing chamber, an annealing chamber strip continuously through an compr sing heating and cooling sections in open communication with one another, a substantially non-flowing, non-oxidizing gas and a gas seal at the entrance to and the exit from said chamber,

WILLIAM S. ROWLAND. Witnesses:

ALMA STROMQUIST, W. E. DUANE. 

